Couples turning back clock

At 53, former champion still landing near the top of the leaderboard

Published 12:17 am, Saturday, April 13, 2013

Photo: Mike Ehrmann

Image 1of/1

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 1

AUGUSTA, GA - APRIL 12: Fred Couples of the United States chips the ball on the fifth hole during the second round of the 2013 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 12, 2013 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) less

AUGUSTA, GA - APRIL 12: Fred Couples of the United States chips the ball on the fifth hole during the second round of the 2013 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 12, 2013 in Augusta, ... more

Photo: Mike Ehrmann

Couples turning back clock

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

Augusta, Ga.

These soon may have to become known as Freddie Fridays.

A former champion who plays almost exclusively on the Champions Tour, Fred Couples defied the Masters odds again Friday by putting himself near the top of the leaderboard heading into the weekend.

Couples, 53, shot a 1-under-par 71 and is tied for second after 36 holes of golf's first major championship. He has reached the halfway point of the Masters in the top 10 each of the past four years, leading the 2012 tournament after the second round.

"Am I good enoughto play four good rounds in a row on a course like this?" Couples said. "It didn't happen last year. I was 4 over pretty fast on Saturday, which was a real bummer. On Sunday, I played well enough to finish in a good spot."

Couples, the 1992 Masters winner, had weekend rounds of 75 and 72 last year and tied for 12th. He was 15th the year before and sixth in 2009.

Separation of wheat, chaff

Nearly two-thirds of the field — 61 of 93 (.6559) — made the cut, the second-highest percentage in 20 years. Last year 63 of 96 (.6563) advanced to the weekend.

Nine players missed the cut by one shot, including 2009 PGA winner Y.E. Yang and 2010 U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell. Louis Oosthuizen, the 2010 British Open victor who lost last year's Masters in a playoff, was two behind the cut line.

"They like to separate the wheat from the chaff fairly early in the week here, then set it up for a bit of excitement on the weekend," McDowell said. "So we have certainly seen that the last couple days."

Quotable

Rory McIlroy, after a 2-under 70, asked if he was searching for anything: "Lunch. I'm hungry."

Sandy Lyle, 55, the 1988 champion who made the cut for the first time, asked if his Black Swan putter is still working: "It hasn't turned into an ugly duckling yet, has it?"